10,602 related texts · Page 213 of 221
Turns out, there was a surprising amount of "calling for peace" involved. (Deuteronomy 20:10) tells us, "When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall call to it for p...
Water, wine, honey… it's a veritable feast of metaphors! But what's the meaning behind it all? Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, explor...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, tackles this very question. It starts with a verse from Proverbs (2:1): "My son, if you take my sayin...
In (Deuteronomy 31:14), God says to Moses, "Behold, your days are approaching to die; summon Joshua, and stand in the Tent of Meeting and I will command him." This verse, "Behold, ...
Even Moses, the great lawgiver, felt it. In Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, we find a poignant moment where Moses pleads with God. He...
It's not just poetic flourish. According to Devarim Rabbah, there's a profound and multifaceted reason why Moses calls upon them as witnesses, as partners, as something more. Rabbi...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the Book of Deuteronomy, gives us a glimpse into that incredible scene, a cosmic struggle between life and death, between Mose...
Devarim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic teachings on the book of Deuteronomy, opens up this very question for us. It begins with the verse, "This is the blessing," and then delves...
It’s a question that comes up right at the beginning of Kohelet Rabbah, the ancient rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes. It kicks off by asking about the opening line: ...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, certainly did. “One generation passes, and one generation comes; and the earth abides forever. The sun rises and the s...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, gets it. "All matters are wearying; man cannot utter it, the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing" (Ecclesiastes ...
Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's called in Hebrew, is full of his reflections, and one line in particular always gets me: "For with much wisdom is much vexation; and one who increa...
Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, explores exactly this kind of sudden, heartbreaking reversal. This particular stor...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these very questions. And Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, dives even deeper. one ...
It grapples with the very human experience of seeking knowledge, stumbling, and trying to make sense of it all. The verse we're looking at today is (Ecclesiastes 2:12): "I turned t...
Kohelet Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, grapples with this very question, using the verse, "The wise man, his eyes are in his head; but the fool walks in...
"I turned my heart to despair regarding all the toil that I toiled under the sun," it says (Ecclesiastes 2:20). It's a sentiment that resonates even today. But Kohelet Rabbah, a co...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these very questions. And one particular verse, (Ecclesiastes 3:5), has sparked some fascinating interpr...
And one particular passage in Kohelet (3:12-13) offers a surprising answer: "I know that there is nothing better for them, than to rejoice, and to do good during their lifetime. Al...
It’s a universal human experience. And it's something the ancient rabbis wrestled with too, as we see in Kohelet Rabbah, a fascinating commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes. The v...
It turns out, that feeling has deep roots in Jewish thought. We find it beautifully expressed in (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12): “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward fo...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (4:17): “Guard your feet when you go to the house of God, and draw near to heed. This is better than fools giving an offering, as they ...
It all starts with the verse from (Ecclesiastes 5:6): "So it is with a multitude of dreams and vanities and many words; rather, fear God.” The verse seems to be saying that too muc...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, as it's known in Hebrew, wrestles with these very questions. And Kohelet Rabbah, the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) that elaborate...
The ancient Rabbis certainly did. In Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, we find a series of stories, almost like little parables,...
"Sweet is the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats a little or a lot; but the satiety of the wealthy does not allow him to sleep" (Ecclesiastes 5:11). It's a powerful image, this ...
And it’s one that the ancient rabbis grappled with in the text of Kohelet Rabbah. Two rabbis, Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, offer contrasting perspectives. Rabbi Yehuda uses the ...
That’s a feeling woven deep into the tapestry of Jewish tradition, a feeling the rabbis grappled with intensely. how they expressed it. The story begins with the passing of Ḥiyya b...
King Solomon, wise beyond measure, certainly did. He saw an "evil under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 6:1), and it wasn't some grand, world-ending catastrophe, but something far more insi...
And the ancient rabbis, in Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on Ecclesiastes, really dig into this idea. The verse in question is (Ecclesiastes 6:6-7): “Were...
That feeling of grasping at smoke...of the wind slipping through your fingers. Well, the ancient wisdom of Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, speaks directly to this feeling. And Kohelet Ra...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet, wrestles with this feeling constantly. And the rabbinic commentary on it, Kohelet Rabbah, dives even deeper into the fleeting nature of, well,...
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, a prominent figure in the Zohar (the foundational text of Jewish mysticism), puts it this way: a good name is more beloved than the Ark of the Covenant itse...
Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, wrestles with this very idea, focusing on the verse: "Anger is better than laughter, as with a cross countenance the heart ...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, tackles this very question, and it does it in such a wonderfully human way. It all starts with...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as we know it in Hebrew, is full of those moments. And one verse in particular, 7:17, gives us a real head-scratcher: "Do not be overly wicked ...
The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as it’s known in Hebrew, wrestles with this very question. It’s a book about searching, about meaning, and often, about the frustrating lack of...
Our sages pondered this question, and their answers, preserved in Kohelet Rabbah, are surprisingly insightful. The verse in question is from Ecclesiastes (8:1): “Who is like the wi...
Today's story from Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, speaks directly to that feeling, urging us to pause and consider our approa...
It all starts with a verse from Ecclesiastes (9:4): "For anyone who is joined to any of the living there is hope, as a living dog is better than a dead lion.” Now, that seems prett...
Like you're going along, minding your own business, and suddenly – BAM! – you're caught in something you never saw coming? The book of Ecclesiastes, or Kohelet as we call it in Heb...
In fact, it's echoed in ancient texts that speak to the timeless struggle between humanity and… well, something much bigger than ourselves. Let’s turn to Kohelet Rabbah, a collecti...
It starts with a small city, a vulnerable one. “There was a small city,” the text says, and the rabbis interpret this city as none other than Egypt. “And few men in it” – these, re...
Kohelet Rabbah, the rabbinic commentary on Ecclesiastes, offers a powerful image of what a synagogue, and the community within it, truly represents. It begins with the verse, "a sm...
The passage starts with a simple statement: "wisdom is better." Better than what? Better "than instruments of battle." Kohelet Rabbah illustrates this with a remarkable tale involv...
It seems Kohelet Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes, thought so too. It uses that very image – "Dead flies spoil and froth a perfumer's oil" ...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of Rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, explores this very human experience with the verse, "There is an evil that I have seen under t...
Kohelet Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Book of Ecclesiastes, grapples with this very question, using the famous story of King Solomon and the two mothers t...
